The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday demanded that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) brief the legislature on the potential impact on social security and labor conditions of a government plan to recruit Indian workers.
Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) earlier this month said that Taipei and New Delhi were finalizing the details of administrative procedures, document verification and health checkups to recruit an initial 1,000 Indians to work in Taiwan’s manufacturing, agricultural and caregiving sectors.
The Indian workers could be recruited “as early as this year,” Hung said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The KMT caucus tabled a motion ahead of yesterday’s plenary legislative session, demanding that Cho and ministers brief the legislature on the potential impact on social security and labor policies, and respond to lawmakers’ questions.
According to the motion, the government’s aim to recruit Indian workers has stoked widespread fears of the “deterioration of gender equality and social security.”
The motion said that a petition calling for a halt to the recruitment of Indian workers has gathered more than 35,000 signatures on the government’s Public Policy Online Participation Network Platform.
Furthermore, 93,000 migrant workers are absent without leave from their jobs in Taiwan, highlighting the government’s “crumbling” migrant worker management system, the motion says.
The caucus demanded that the Executive Yuan explain its motives for recruiting Indian migrant workers and the demand for them.
It also asked the Executive Yuan to halt its plan to add another country to Taiwan’s list of migrant worker providers until the problem of absconding migrant workers is solved.
Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) ruled that the motion would be sent to a second reading according to the consensus reached between the KMT, the Taiwan People’s Party and the Democratic Progressive Party.
The KMT is to convene a round of cross-caucus talks before the motion can advance, Han added.
KMT caucus convener Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) said the government must have accompanying measures for a new batch of foreign workers from a starkly different cultural background, to ensure social security and stability.
“In India, women are not treated with dignity,” Fu said. “To protect women in Taiwan, the government must let people know whether it is ready for the influx of Indian migrant workers and the ensuing social security concerns.”
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